Parcel-assorting device



' WITNESS:

Dec. 17, 1929. R sous 1,740,378

PARCEL ASSORTING DEVICE Filed Dec. 9, 1927 6 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORN EY f4 JM Dec. 17, 1929. R SOUSA PARCEL ASSORTING DEVICE Filed Dec. 9, 1927 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 /ZQJAWA AY'I'OR NEY WITNESS:

l7, 1929 J R, SOUSA 1,740,378

PARCEL ASSORTING DEVICE Filed Dec. 9, 1927 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 a Jo/ziz 1?. Sousa I? INVENTOR ATTOR N EY WITNESS:

6 Sheets-Sheet 4 J. R. SOUSA PARCEL ASSORTING DEVICE Filed Dec. 9, 1927 Dec. 17, 1929.

INVENTOR ATTORNEY Lfaizn R. Sousa Dec. 17, 1929. J. R. sousA PARCEL ASSORTING DEVICE 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Dec. 9, 1927 NSULATION aha 225M52 macaw ATTORN EY WIITNESS:

Patented Dec. 17, 1929 .F F El E JOHN R. SOUSA, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, ASSIGNOR TO AUTOMATIC ASSORTING IMACHEDIE COMPANY, OF VIASHINGTON, DISTRIGTOF ;C'OLUMBIA, A COR- PORATION OFDELAV/"ARE IPARGEL-ASSORTING DEVICE.

Application filed December 9, 1927.

This invention relates to a parcel assorting device, the general object of the invention being to provide .a plurality of rows of receptacles rfor receiving the articles and an electrically operated carriage forqeach row for taking the parcels from a central point to the receptacles, with rake devices foru'emoving the parcels trolnthe carriages and depositing them into the receptacles and manually -.op,erated :means for .moving any desired rake device into'active position, such means also closing the circuit to the motor of the carriage.

Another object of the invention is to pro? vide means for returning each carriagezto its starting point, with shock absorbing means for checking the movement of the carriage as itnears-the end of its track.

A still further object oi the invention is to provideieach carriage with iourtrolleyawith a tracker wire for each trolley andswitch means for controlling the circuits to the troL ley wires-in such a manner that the carriage is caused to move forwardly when the'switch is closed and after the switch-is released by the rake operatingmeans the current to the motor is reversed so that the carriage returns to its starting point, with means for stopping the carriage adjacent the endof the trackii' a rake device should remain in active position.

A still further object is to provide extensions on the receptaclesso that .theparcels deposited thereincan be movedintothe extensions, thus leavingthe receptacles frceto receive other parcels.

This invention also consists in certain other features of construction :and inthc combination and arrangementof the several parts, to be hereinafter fully described,illustrated in.theaccompanying drawings and specifical- 1y. pointed out in the appended claims.

In describing my invention infdetail, reference Willbe had tot-he accompanying fdrawings wherein like characters denote like or correspondingparts throughout the several views, and in-which Figural is a plan viewof portion ofthe invention.

"Figure 2 is an elevation.

Serial No. 238,979.

Figure 3 is a section on line 33 of Figure .1.

Figure A is a transverse sectional View through portionof a trackand showing an end view of the carriage.

Figure 5 isa view looking-in:the1opposite direction from Figure 4.

Figure 6 is an elevationofthe carriage, with portions .of the supporting means in section.

Figure 7 isa plan .view of thecarriage.

Figure 8 isa front view of a partoi the device, showinga row of keysan-d the identifying means for-the receptacles in the row.

Figure 9 is aplan viewzofFigure 8, with part. of the front in section.

Figure 10 is aside-viewot Figure 8.

Figure 11 is a viewof the.contacts of the switch.

Figure 12 is a section online 12- 12 of Figure 13.

Figure 13 is .a sectionion line .13-13 of Figure 12.

Figure ltis a sectional view through the shock absorbing means.

Figure lh isa-side -;view of, portion of such means.

Figure 16 is a Vl-BW-OfthBllQtQhglfOI holding each. gate means inraised position.

Figuregl'iis a, plan view of Figure 16.

Figure 18 is a view showing how thela-tch holds the gate in raised position.

Figure 19 is a perspective view showing how the cables. are attached to the rake means and the switches.

Figure QOisa sectional view showinghow theitrolley is yieldably held in raised position. I

Figure 21 is a diagrammatic view-of the circuits.

In these .views, Asindicates a framework which supports a number of horizontal rows of receptacles .1, ,eachreceptacle beingprovided with an extension2 which projectsbeyond theframework so that articles, deposited into the receptacle may be pulled intoItheextension and thuslleave the receptac-lei'ree to receive other articles. A track 3 is arranged above each row of .receptaclestosupport the wheels of a carriage B .so .tl1at each, carriage will pass above the tops of each row of receptacles. Each carriage has its parcel carrying portion formed of spaced fingers 4 upon which the parcels rest and each carriage is driven by a motor M, the shaft of which is connected by the gears 5 with the shaft 6 of the carriage to which some of the supporting wheels 7 are connected. Four trolley wires a, b, c and (Z are arranged above each row of receptacles, these wires being attachedto the insulators 8 and trolley wheels 9,10, 11 and 12 engage the wires and each wheel has its harp 13 pressed upwardly in a socket member 14 by acoil spring 15 so that each wheel is yieldingly held in engagement with its wire.

Each harp is electrically connected with the motor, as shown in Figure 7. The wires a and b are contacted by the trolley wheels which are connected with the field of the motor, while the wiresc and (Z are contacted contacts 21 and 22, controls the flow of cur-.

rent from the main switch 23 to the trolley wires. A conductor 24 connects the positive contact of the main switch 23 with the contact 21 of the switch arm and a conductor 25 connects the negative contact of the switch 23 with the trolley wire a. Contacts 16 and 18 are connected together by the conductor 26 and contacts 17 and 19 are connected together by the conductor 27. A conductor 28'connects contact 16 with'trolley wire cl and a conductor 29 connects contact 19 with trolley wire 0. A conductor 30 connects contact 22 of the switch arm -with trolley wire I) and with that-part of wired beyond the insulated part at. 1

With the carriage at the front end of the track and the switch 20 in its normal position with its contacts against the contacts 18 and 19, no current will pass to the motor of the carriage as the current is interrupted by the insulated part 0 of wlre 0. However, when the switch arm 20 is moved against the contacts 16 and 17, current will flow from the main line over conductor 24 through contacts 21 and 16, conductor 28 to trolley wire (Z through the trolley wheels, contact wires 0 and (Z over branch 6 to the wires a and Z) and through the return conductor to the negative ofthe. main line. Thus the motor will be, rotated ina direction to cause the carriage to move forwardly over the track and this movement will continue as long as the switch arm 20 remains agalnst the contacts 16 and 17. When the switch arm 20 is moved back to its original position against the contacts 18 g wire cl, conductor 28, contact 16, conductor 26 to contact 18 and over conductor to the field wires (1 and b and through trolley Wheels and over return conductor 25., -Thus the cur-' rent through the armatures may be reversed and the motor will cause the carriage to return to'its starting point. As soon as the carriage passes beyond the insulated part c, the current to the motor will be broken.

If the switch arm 20 should remain in contact with the contacts 16 and 17 until the carriage passed over the insulated part d, current to the motor of the carriage would be broken by said part 03 so that the carriage would come to rest. Then as soon as the switch arm 20 returned to its normal position against the contacts 18 and 19,'current would again flow to the motor of the carriage but in an opposite direction to the armatures thereof so that the motor would return the carriage to the front end of the track.

A rake device 31 is pivoted in each compartment, with its prongs adapted to pass between the fingers of the carriage,when the rake device is in raised position to cause the parcels in the carriage to drop from the carriage into the receptacle. Each ra-ke'device is provided with an arm 32 to which is at tached a cable 33 and each cable is also attached at its rear end to a lever 34- pivoted in a case 35 in which is also pivoted the switch arm 20 and in the bottom of which are arranged contacts 16, 17, 18 and 19, a coil spring 36, attached to the switch arm 20 and to a part of the case, holding the switch'arm in a position with its contacts against the contacts 18 and 19. Thus it will be seen that when a cable is pulled upon to raise the rake device, it will also operate a lever 34 to move the switch arm 20 against the action of its spring 36 to cause its contacts to engage'the contacts 16 and 17.

- Each cable is connected at its-front end to a bell crank 37, and each bell crank 37 is connected by a link 38 with a long arm of a bell crank 39 arranged in a frame 40 at the front of each row of receptacles, and the short arm of each bell crank 39 is adapted to be engaged by the short arm of a bell crank 41 having a part projecting through a slot in the front.

to the inner face of the front of the frame 40.'

Thus by pushing upon one of the keys 42, the bell crank'41 thereof will be depressed and its short arm will rock the bell. crank. 39 with which it engages and this bell crank,

through the link 38, will rock the bell'crank 37 with which the linkis connected and thus These key bell a pull will be exerted upon the cable 33 at tached to the bell crank 37 so that the rake device with which the cable is connected will be raised, and at the same time a lever 34; will be operated to move the switch arm against the contacts 16 and 17. As the rake device is raised, a long prong H thereof will engage a latch pivoted to a bracket 46 attached to a part of the frame A and'thus the rake device will be held in raised position even though the linger is removed from the key a The latch will not only hold the rake device in raised position, but it will also hold the switch arm against the contacts 16 and 17. before stated, this position of the switch arm 20 will cause current to flow to the motor of the carriage at the front of the row of receptacles so that the carriage will move forwardly until it reaches the rake device which is in raised position. The prongs of the rake device will pull the articles from the carriage and deposit them in the receptacle and as the carriage passes the rake de vice, a cam 47 thereon will strike a projecting part 48 of the latch 45, raising the same so that the latch will release the rake device and permit the rake device to drop back to its normal inactive position. This will slacken the cable 33 which is attached to the rake device so that the spring 36 will return the switch arm 20 to normal position against the contacts 18 and 19, thus reversing the flow of current to the motor of the carriage so that the carriage will return to its starting point. As before stated, as the carriage passes over the insulated part, the circuit of the motor will be broken, and thus the carriage will come to rest at the front of the device. If the rake device should fail to drop to its inactive position, the carriage would proceed to the end of the track where it would pass over the insulated part d, which .vou'ld break the circuit to the motor of the same and thus the carriage would come to rest at the end of the track. Then when the switch was reversed, the carriage would return to its starting point.

Thus it will be seen that the operator, by depressing a key 12, can have the carriage pass to any desired compartment and deposit the laundry therein and then the carriage will return to its starting point, it simply being necessary for the operator to depress the proper key. Identification means for each he may be arranged at the front of the apparatus under each row of keys, as shown at 49.

I provide shock absorbing means for checking the movement of the carriage as it nears the front end of the track on its return movement, such means comprising an endless chain 50 carried by the sprockets 51 on the shafts which are suitably supported in the frame, a projection 53 on the chain being connected by a rod 5% with the piston 55 of a dashpot 55, the exhaust passage 56 of which is regulated by a'set screw 57. The carriage carries a projection 58 which is adapted to strike the projection 53 as the carriage nears the limit of its return movement so that the dashpot arrangement acts as a'check to the movement of the carriage and gradually brings the same to a stop upon the insulated portion of the trolley wires. In order to return the piston of the dashpot to its original position, I provide asecond projection 59011 the endless chain which is in front of the projection 53 and which is provided with a pivoted arm 60. As thecarriage moves forwardly from the front of the device, it will strike this arm which is held against movement by the projection 59 so that-the chain is moved and the piston of the dashpot moved to its normal position. Ast-he projection 59 and its arm start to pass over one of the sprockets 51, the arm 60 will pass beyond the path of the projection58 of the carriage and thus the endless chain will come to rest. If the projection 59 and its arm should return into the path of the projection 58 on the carriage, then said projection 58, on the return movement of the carriage, would simply strike the arm 60 and move the same on its pivot until the projection 58 passed beyond the same and thus the projection 58 can engage the projection 53 on the endless chain without interference on the part of the "projection 59 and its arm 60.

Instead of using the receptacles, as shown, sacks can he suspended from hooks on the frame to receive the articles raked from the carriage and the first receptacle or compartment ineach row and some of the last ones in each row can have their rake devices omitted so as to insure the proper operation of the carriages.

It is thought from the foregoing description that the advantages and novel features of' my invention will be readily apparent.

It is to he understood that I may make changes in the construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, provided that such changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What- I claim is 1. A distributing machine comprising a plurality of receiving compartments, a carriage for conveying articles thereto, means for conveying the articles from the carriage to the compartments, manually operated means for moving any'desired} conveying means into active position including mechanical connections between the operating means and the'con'veying means, a motor for driving the carriage, circuits for the same and means operated by the manually operated means including mechanical connections between t'he 'c'onveying means and such means for causing the motor to drive the carriage 1 forwardlyto the'compartment, theconveylng means of which has been moved into active position and for reversing the circuit after the carriage has passed the compartment to cause the carriage to return to its starting point.

2. A distributing machine comprising a plurality of receiving compartments, a carriage for conveying articles thereto, transfer means at each compartment for transfer ring articles from the carriage to the con partment, key operated means for actuating the transferring means such means including mechanical connections between the keys and the transferring means, a motor for operating the carriage, circuits for the same, a switch for controlling the circuits and means connected with the key operated means for moving the switch and including mechanical connections between the switch and the transferring means. l

3. A distributing machine comprising a plurality of receiving compartments, a carriage for conveying articles thereto, trans fer means at each compartment for transferring articles from the carriage to the compartment, key operated means for actuating the transferring means, a motor for operating the carriage, circuits for the same, a switch for controlling the circuits, means connected with the key operated means for moving the switch, and shock aosorbing means for retarding the movement of the carriage to its starting point.

4:. A distributing machine comprising a plurality of receiving compartments, a carriage for conveying articles thereto, transfer means at each compartment for transferring articles from the carriage to the compartment, key operated means for actuating the transferring means, a motor for operating the carriage, circuits for the same, a switch for controlling the circuits, means connected with the key operated means for moving the switch, shock absorbing means for retarding the movement of the carriage to its starting point, such means comprising an endless chain, sprockets for supporting the same, a projection on the chain, a rod connected with the projection, a dashpot and a piston in the dashpot to which the rod is connected and a part ofthe carriage engaging the proj ection on the chain when the carriage nears the end of its return movement.

5. A distributing machine comprising a plurality of receiving compartments, a carriage for conveying articles thereto, transfer means ateach compartment for transferring articles from the carriageto the compartment, key operated means for actuating the transferring means, a motor for operating the carriage, circuits for the same, a switch forfcontrolling' the circuits, means connected with the key operated means for moving the. switch, shockab'sorbing means for retarding the movement of the carriage to its starting point, such means, comprising an endless dashpot to which the rod is connected and a part of the carriage engaging the projection on the chain when the carriage nears the end of its return movement and a pivoted projection on the chain adapted to be engaged by a part on the carriage on the forward movement of the carriage for returning the piston in the dashpot to its normal position.

6. A distributing machine comprising a plurality of receiving compartments, a carriage for conveying articles thereto, a rake device at each compartment for conveying articles from the carriage to the compartment, manually operated means for moving any desired rake device to active position, latch means for holding the rake device in active position after being moved to such position by the manually operated means, means on the carriage for releasing the latch means as the carriage passes by the same, a motor for operating the carriage, circuits for the motor including four trolley wires, a trolley assembly for each wire, a switch having two contacts thereon, four stationmy contacts arranged in pairs, spring means for normally holding the switch with its contacts against two of the stationary contacts, means connected with the rake devices for moving the switch against the action of its spring to bring its contacts against the other pair of stationary contacts, means for connecting one of the contacts on the switch to a source of supply, means for connecting the field trolley wires with the negative of said source, means for connecting one of the stationary contacts with an armature trolley wire and the opposite stationary contact with the other armature wire, means for connecting the second contact of the switch with one of the field wires and one of the armature wires, an insulated part adjacent the front end of one of the armature wires, an insulated part adjacent the rear end of the other armature wire and a branch connecting the front insulated portion of the armature wire with a field wire.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

J OHN R. SOUSA. 

